Transition City Bristol to Plant a Virtual Orchard

We’ve reported on Transition City Bristol before, one of the first city-wide Transition Town initiatives [Disclaimer: This author has good friends involved in the project, but we’d be writing about it even if we didn’t]. It looks like things are hotting up for this group. Aside from launching a program of autumn film screenings and talks, they have also announced the imminent birth of a ‘virtual orchard’ that will spread across the city.

The idea stems from a previous project of the Bristol Permaculture Group that was trying to promote biodiversity, food security and traditional agriculture within the city limits. When investigating the site for a potential community orchard in the Easton area, and coming up empty handed, members suddenly realized they were thinking too literally – land was all around them, only it was parcelled up into small lots in people’s back yards etc. They ordered a large number of local-variety fruit trees in bulk, and then organized discount sales, as well as tree-care workshops, for Easton residents. Over the course of a couple of years, the group arranged the distribution of hundreds of fruit trees, significantly increasing the amount of food grown in the neighbourhood while providing habitat for pollinating insects, and preserving some traditional apple varieties. The city-wide initiative will follow similar lines, and the group is looking for volunteers to help coordinate the effort – especially those with admin skills. ::Transition City Bristol::via site visit::